Children often tell fantastic tales of excitement in other lands they've conquered and villains and monsters they've fought. John and Larry Buchholz, 6 and 8 years old respectively, fought much more dangerous childhood monsters than most children, and the only conquering was done with the coming of age.

The Buchholz boys, back in 1910, were put aboard a Lehigh Valley passenger train in Geneva for the first leg of a 360-mile journey to an austere Ohio orphanage, reads the novel “The Orphan Home,” an edited retelling of the boys' story by John Buchholz and Christine Buck. The book is drawn from conversations recorded during the brothers' later years, and delivers enlightening, enticing and terrible visions of childhood servitude at the Ebenezer Orphan Home in Flat Rock, Ohio.

On Saturday, Feb. 16, Creekside Books & Coffee will welcome Buck and Buchholz to discuss their novel with interested patrons as they paint the image of the boys' childhood from the train station platform that lead them to an orphanage in Flat Rock. The book reads:

“I remember that before we got on the train, they tied shipping tags on us. Right on our shirt buttons.

“Pop told the conductor, 'Now you take these fellows to the station in Buffalo and transfer them to the Nickel Plate. Tell that conductor to take care of them and put them off in Bellevue, Ohio.'

“And that's what happened. When we got to Buffalo, the conductor took us over to the Nickel Plate, and he told the conductor there, 'Now these boys are going to Flat Rock, Ohio. To an orphan home. It#'s up to you to take care of them. See that you do it.'”

The editors, Buck and Buchholz, are the niece and nephew of Larry K. and John H. Buchholz. Buck is a graduate of Centenary College and the State University of New York. She is also a writer, historian and poet and a lecturer on the history of upstate New York cemeteries.

Buchholz is a native of New York state's Finger Lakes region. He is a Cornell University alumnus, and is retired from a labor relations career in Philadelphia, Penn. He lives in a lakeside cottage in rural upstate New York with his wife. His writing has appeared in magazines, journals and anthologies, and he is currently preparing a collection of his short fiction for publication.

If you go

What: Visit by John Buchholz and Christine Buck, editors of The Orphan Home

When: 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16

Where: Creekside Books & Coffee, 35 Fennell St., Skaneateles

Cost: Free

Info: Call 685-0379